Looper tensioning device



Spt. 9, 1941. E. F. COREN LOOPER TENSIONING DEVICE Filed May 23, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l EVERETT FCOREN l veni'or Cttorncgs Sept. 9, 1941. EMF. COREN LOOPER TENSIONING DEVICE Filed May 25 19 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ma g g Zmnentor N E 0m 0 C E T. T E R m.

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attorney 5 Patented Sept. 9, 1941 Everett F. Goren,

Concord Knitting Concord, N. C., assignor to Company, Concord, N. C., a

corporation of North Carolina Application May 23, 1940, Serial No. 336,788

6 Claims.

This invention relates to hosiery manufacture and more especially to a tension device to be used in conjunction with loopers.

It is a well known fact that it is necessary to unite certain layers of hosiery together in order to make a finished product. One of the most common methods employed is to insert the two edges of the layers on looper points so that the loops will be matched. Then a conventional looper sewing machine needle is adapted to successively pass through the matched loops on the points and sew the two edges together. When inserting the two layers on the points, however, it is the usual practice to leave several courses above the points, which must be sheared off before the looper sewing machine unites the two edges. Therefore, it becomes necessary to pull the two layers downwardly during the shearing operation so that the matched loops on the points will not be sheared. If one of the loops on the points should be accidentally sheared, a run would result in the finished stocking.

It is, therefore an object of this invention to provide a device for automatically applying a downward pull on the layers of fabric to be united, while the excess portions of the layers are being severed above the looper points.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, When taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure '1 is a plan view of a dial looper showing my invention associated therewith;

Figure 2 is an elevation looking along the line 2-2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 3--3 in Figure 1;

Figure' l is an elevation looking at the near side of Figure 1, showing the looper support in section;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in'Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in Figure 1; V

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line I---'! in Figure 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings,

the numeral 10 denotes a suitable bench or support to which is secured an overhanging canti levered frame H, which supports a dial race I2, said race depending from the extreme outer end of frame N. This race has a dial ring clamp l3 secured thereon by means of screws M, the function of this clamp'being to hold a dial ring IS in its proper position. The dial ring l5 supports- 1 shaft 21 is rotated by a a point ring l6 upon which a plurality of needles or points I! are adapted to rest with their sharpened endsprojecting beyond the periphery of the point ring It so that the loops of the fabric, such as a hose 32 may be placed thereon. A plurality of point clamps 13 are adapted to rest upon the shanks of points ll to hold them in fixed position against the point ring. These point clamps are held in position against the point ring and dial ring respectively by any suitable means such as screws l9.

The dial ring l5 has integral therewith a circular gear |5CL which is engaged by aconventional pinion 20 on the end of shaft 2|. The conventional mechanism which will not be described, but'it will be noted that as this shaft and pinion rotate, the dial ring and the associated points ll are caused also to rotate, slowly in a clockwise manner in Figure 1. Gear I50. is protected by a suitable guard 22 which, in turn, is secured to the bottom portion of the dial ring.

Secured to the dial race [2 a at 23 is a holding bracket 24 (Figures 1 and 6) which bows around the edge or periphery of the dial ring and supports a fabric guard plate 25 in the position shown in Figures 1, 6 and 7. Secured to the guard plate by any suitable means such as screws 26 is a thin, L-shaped plate 21 which acts as a point guard beneath which points ll are adapted to pass as they carry the fabric 32, through the machine. This plate has a point 210., the end of which is disposed above the ends of the moving points or needles ll. Plate 2'! has integral therewith an upstanding leg 28 which cooperates with the edge 29 of this plate (Figure 1) to cause the fabric to be pushed to the proper position upon the points during the shearing operation. Also disposed below the points and assisting in holding the fabric in the proper position upon the points, is the interior arcuate edge of the plate 25. It will be noted by observing Figures 1, 6 and 7, that the interior edge or periphery of the plate 25 is slightly removed from the periphery of the ring It, there being enough space between the members 25 and Hi to permit layers 30 and 3| of hose 32 to pass therebetween, said layers having the upper portions thereof mounted upon the points H. v y

In practicing the invention, it is necessary to insert two layers 36 and 3! of hose 3?. upon the points il in the manner'shown in Figures 5, 6' and '7. Also it is necessary tofmatchthese layers loop for loop so that the finished product can be sewed together with the least ridge possible in the hose. When the layers and 3| are placed upon the points, a few courses are usually disposed above the points. Before the sewing operation i effected, however, it is necessary to shear all this excess fabric from the layers 3|] and 3|, which is disposed above the points leaving only the bare loops on the points. These excess portions are designated by the reference characters 33 and 34 and constitute a continuation of layers 30 and 3|, respectively.

10 When the layers are first inserted upon the;

points they occupy a position such as shown in Figure 4. Then the points are caused to advance in a clockwise manner in Figure 1 to carry the stocking 32 along with the points toward the 1 guard plate 25. When the guide point 21a is contacted, the portions 33 and 34, which are disposed above the points 7, are pushed inwardly to the position where they will be guided by the edge 29 and the upstanding leg 28 of the plate 27 and also by the interior periphery of the guard plate 25. The portion 33 and 34 are then exposed to a reciprocatory knife 45, this knife being mounted on bell crank 46 which oscillates about point 4! to cause said knife to move back and forth relative to a stationary knife 43, which in turn is secured to a block 49 by means of screw 50.

Also secured on the lower end of bell crank 43 is a packer 54 which has a packing edge 55 for contacting the portion 34 of the fabric and pressing it together with the associated portion 33 firmly upon the points so that the same will be prepared for the shearing operation.

The bell crank 46 has pivotally secured to its other end, a link 55, which link is operated by means of a disk or wheel 51, said wheel being fixedly secured upon rotating shaft 58. As the shaft 58 rotates, oscillatory motion is imparted to the crank 46 to thereby cause the blade 45 to oscillate and shear the portions 33 and 34 to substantially the same elevation as the top of the points.

When this shearing operation has been effected, it is necessary above the course held by the points ll be removed so that when the looping operation takes place, the bare loops on the needles may be joined together, loop for loop, and a perfect union effected, thereby preventing a large rib or seam at the junction point. In order to loosen and remove these remaining threads from the course held by the points H, a suitable oscillating brush 60 has been provided with the lower portion thereof disposed directly against the top of the points l1. As the brush oscillates the loose strands will be partially loosened and removed from the courses which are disposed on the point I1.

This brush is fixedly secured around shaft 6| which shaft is rotatably mounted in bracket 62. The bracket 62 is secured to trimmer frame 63 which in turn is secured to the dial race l2. This trimmer frame also supports bracket 65 to which lever 46 is pivotally secured. The shaft 6| has fixedly secured on the other end thereof 'an upwardly projecting lever 66 and pivotally secured to this lever is one end of link 61, the other end of link 61 being pivoted to the end of a lever 68 that the remaining yarns 4 (Figure 4), said lever being fixedly mounted on 70 rotating shaft 69. As the shaft 69 rotates, seen that the lever 66 will be oscillated back and forth, to thereby cause the lower portion of the brush 60 to loosen and unravel the excess thread above the points l1.

it is The parts thus far described are conventional in standard loopers, but it is deemed necessary to describe this much of the conventional structure and of the conventional method of operation so that the invention which is adapted to be worked in combination therewith may be clearly understood.

As heretofore stated, it is highly essential that the proper downward pull or tension be placed in the layers 30 and 3| of the hose 32, while the excess portions 33 and 34 are being sheared by the reciprocatory knife 45. The purpose in maintaining the proper downward pull or tension is to prevent the shearing of the loops which are disposed upon the points H. In order to insure that this tension will be automatically applied at the right time, a suitable peripheral groove 10 has been cut in the ring member l6. This groove is adapted to accommodate an endless coiled spring II, and normally the spring is adapted to rest in this groove for a portion of the circumference and in such a position as to support the inner layer 30 of the fabric in the manner shown in Figures 5 and 6. By observing Figures 5 and 6, it is also seen that there is a slight clearance between the spring while in the groove, and the lower inner edge of the plate 25. This clearance is suificient to permit the layers 30 and 3| of the hose to pass therebetween without any material friction.

At the shearing point where a downward pull is necessary to be exerted upon the layers 30 and 3|. a stationary cam 13 is secured to the lower side of the plate 25 in the manner shown in Figures 4 and 7. At the point where spring 1| moves beneath this cam, the clearance is reduced to a point where the spring will be forced out of the groove 70. This is especially true where the thicknesses of two layers 30 and 3| must be interposed between the spring and the cam. As the hose and the supporting spring approaches the cam, the spring II will be gradually eased downwardly out of the groove 10 carrying with it the two layers 30 and 3|, resulting in an increased downward pull on the layers, thereby preventing the loops which are disposed upon the points from coming in contact with the shearing blade 45.

In Figure 4, the hose 32 and the associated layers 30 and 3| are omitted at the point where oam i3 is located; however, the spring II will nevertheless be pushed downwardly out of the groove as shown in the drawings. Of course, when a hose is placed on the points, the spring will be pushed down a greater amount. The spring "H remains out of the groove until it reaches an inclined cam 16 which cam is secured to the guard ring 22 by means of screws 11. The upper portion of this cam has an in- 'clined surface 18 the upper end of said inclined surface being substantially even with the lower edge of the groove 10 (see Figure 3). This'ca'm serves to return the spring H to the groove, where it will remain until it again contacts the fixed cam 13 previously described.

It is therefore seen that I have provided a simple mechanism for automatically applying tension to the hose layers while the excess portions above the points are being sheared therefrom. The device is remarkably simple and emcient, with very little cost attached and very little possibility of the same getting out oforder.

In the drawings and specification, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a looper mechanism for uniting the proximate edges of a stocking, a plurality of movable points on which the loops of said edges are adapted to be placed, means for shearing the edges above the loops held by the points, a stationary guard for confining said loops on the points during shearing, a flexible band movable with said points and also being adapted to engage the opposite side of said stocking from said guard, and a fixed cam on said guard, said cam being disposed slightly above and in the path of said flexible band, whereby the stocking and band will be forced downwardly when passing the shearing point. 7

2. In a looper mechanism for uniting the proximate edges of a stocking, a plurality of movable points on which the loops of said edges are adapted to be placed, means for shearing the edges above the loops held by the points, a flexible band movable with said points and to support one side of the stocking while on the points, and a fixed cam disposed at the shearing point and on the opposite side of said stocking, said cam being disposed slightly above and in the path of said band whereby the stocking and band will be forced downwardly when passing the shearing point.

3. In a dial looper for uniting layers of a stocking, said looper having means for imparting rotation thereto and having a plurality of points for penetrating the edges of said layers at a point removed from the extreme edges, a fixed arcuate member disposed below the points, a continuous flexible band mounted around said dial and being adapted to support one side of said stocking below the points, means for shear ing the edges of said layers above the points, and means for forcing said flexible band and the layers downwardly and outwardly to move said layers into clamping ate member during the shearing operation.

4. In a dial looper for uniting layers of a stocking, said looper having means for imparting engagement with said arcu- I said spring rotation thereto and having a plurality of points for penetrating the edges of said layers at a point removed from the extreme edges, said looper also having a peripheral groove therein below said points, a continuous coiled spring disposed in said groove and being adapted to support one side of said stocking below the points, means for shearing the edges of said layers above the points and a fixed cam disposed at the shearing point and on the opposite side of the stocking from the spring, said cam being disposed slightly above and in the path of said spring whereby the stocking will be clampingly engaged between the spring and cam and forced downwardly and whereby the spring will be forced out of the groove. 7

5. In a dial looper for uniting layers of a stocking, said looper having means for imparting rotation thereto and having a plurality of points for penetrating the edges of said layers at a point removed from the extreme edges, said looper also having a peripheral groove therein below said points, a continuous coiled spring disposed in said groove and being adapted to support one side of said stocking below the points, means for shearing the edges of said layers above the points and a fixed cam disposed at the shearing point and on the opposite side of the stocking from the spring, said cam being disposed slightly above and in the path of 7 whereby the stocking will be clampingly engaged between the spring and cam and forced downwardly, and whereby the spring will be forced out of the groove, and cam means for returning said spring to said groove.

6. In a looper mechanism for uniting the proximate edges of a stocking, a plurality of movable :points on which the untensioned loops of said edges are adapted to be placed, means for shearing the edges above the loops held by the points. means located adjacent the shearing means for automatically applying tension upon the stocking below said loops while the shearing operation is effected, and means for automatically relieving the tension after said shearing operation.

EVERETT F. COREN. 

